1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to portable apparatus for cooling and heating air in a room or the like and, more particularly, to the cooling of air by using ice and ice water for cooling through a heat exchanger.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There are essentially two types of systems for cooling air, the simplest is an evaporative air cooler where pads are soaked with water and a blower is used to blow air through the soaked pads. The air is evaporatively cooled as it moves through the soaked pads and is then blown into a room, a building, etc. This type of evaporative air cooling system functions quite well where or when the environment has relatively low humidity. As the humidity rises, the efficiency of evaporated air cooling systems decreases.
The second general system of cooling air is a refrigeration system in which air is blown past evaporator coils through which a refrigerant flows.
An alternate low cost, portable, and limited system of the latter is the use of a cooling medium, such as ice, to cool water, and the cooled water is passed through coils. Air is blown past the coils and heat is exchanged. The cooled air is then circulated through a building, room, etc.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,762,129, the inventor of which is the inventor of the present invention, discloses two general types of cooling (or heating) systems having a generally horizontal configuration. Two types are illustrated, open systems in which the coolant medium is circulated and cooled and recirculated, and a closed loop type system in which a coolant medium is circulated through a heat exchanger and a separate medium is used to cool the circulating coolant medium.